ASHEVILLE, NC, USA -- Venus Williams took to the singles court for the 1,000th time as a professional tennis player on Saturday, and, as she has in over three-quarters of those instances, she emerged as the winner.

In the opening match of the United States' Fed Cup World Group I tie against the Netherlands, the World No.8 defeated Arantxa Rus, 6-1, 6-4, to give the USA a 1-0 lead. It was the 20th Fed Cup singles win for Williams, giving her a second milestone to correspond with her 1,000th career singles match.

"It’s never easy, it’s always a challenge, and that’s why we always come back," Williams said on court, after the victory. "That’s why you play the match, because it’s never a win until it’s over. On paper, it looked like I should win the match, but it was a battle. But I’m glad it was a battle that the U.S. won."

"You know I like to go big, so I was just trying to find the balance between big and too big," continued Williams. "I think that today’s match will hopefully help me for tomorrow."

"We don’t get to do this a lot in tennis, to play on a team, so this week is very special for us," Williams stated.

The match was her 776th singles win of her 1,000 played, giving her a staggering winning percentage throughout her lengthy professional career, which began as an unranked 14-year-old wild card in Oakland, California in 1994. Since then, she has claimed seven Grand Slam singles titles and 49 WTA singles titles, and held the World No.1 singles ranking for 11 weeks.

Read more: Behind the Numbers: Venus' Road to 1,000

Williams cruised through the first set before facing off a stern challenge from Rus in the second set. But the top-ranked American was able to get through in 81 minutes by way of four aces and winning 69 percent of points when she got her first serve in.

After the players both held in the first two games, Williams took over in the opening frame, breaking Rus twice en route to a 5-1 lead. Williams quickly served out the first set in the next game when a Rus service return flew long.

The second set was much more competitive, as the Dutch left-hander, currently ranked World No.124, began to click on her service returns. The set opened wth five consecutive breaks, as many games were heading to deuce, and the servers were unable to dominate with their delivery.

In particular, the Williams service, which was unshakeable in the opener, had faltered, with three double faults in the first three games, after none in the first set. But the former World No.1 regrouped, fending off a break point during another protracted game before finally holding for 4-2.

In the next game, Rus recovered from 0-40 behind some fabulous forehand winners, holding for the first time since her first service game of the match. But she was still down by a break, and it would turn out to be too late for a comeback, as Williams was on a mission to get the Americans off to a flying start.

The American No.1 held for 5-3, and then saw her first match point in her next service game when a Rus forehand went long. On that point, another solid Williams serve eventually led to Rus punching a backhand into the net, letting Williams complete her 1,000th match in style.

"It was amazing to play in front of this crowd, you guys are so supportive," Williams exclaimed after the match, to the appreciative cheers of the audience. "I think we might need to have every tie in Asheville, this is one of the most amazing crowds I’ve ever played in front of, it feels good."